Neeley Family Blog

Brad and I are fans of Dave (this is no shock to anyone) and have been for a long time. We have gone to many shows all over the US to see Dave or DMB. We have not been in recent years due to timing issues with us having children (hah! imagine that!). Anyway, DMB was playing Labor Day weekend at our favorite spot, the Gorge (George, Washington). Brad and I had planned when the dates were announced to try and go at least one to two nights. We had asked my parents to take the boys overnight for us, which they kindly said sure to. As it got nearer, I got my schedule at work and did not get the dates off I requested. So I told Brad that I did not think I could go because of my work schedule and that he should go without me. He did not like this, but said that he would try to find a ticket for himself. About 4 days prior to the weekend I made a last ditch effort to get someone at work to trade with me a day and to my surprise it worked! So I was getting off early on Saturday and off on Sunda...

Well, officially Mr. Brayden is a school boy. He started his first year of Preschool on the 2 nd of September. He was very excited the night before. We picked out his school clothes and got everything ready for the "BIG" day. He was still excited at 7am the morning of his first day. He was ready to go right away. He was shy walking into class and unsure about his new surroundings. He is an analyzer just like me and was taking in everything. He was quiet, which we expected. Brayden was fine with me leaving him. He just kept saying, "you'll come back and get me in a while?" I reassured him yes, I would be back with Brock and he could tell me all about his day. I took these few pictures before I left. I love the seriousness on his face! I got a little build up of tears in the eyes as I went to leave. It was such a surreal experience to leave him there in school. He just does not feel that old yet. I was so excited for him though and knew he would have the great...

Brayden is starting preschool on the 2nd of September. He is going to St. John in Milwaukie. He is SUPER excited!!! We made a recent trip to Target to gather his list of school supplies. We also went to Costco to get a snack for the class. He picked out everything and was very into getting the right items for school. I bought him a Mickey Mouse backpack about a month ago to get him ready. He specifically requested Mickey. Then a week after buying it, we got the welcome letter from the school and they said there would not be room for backpacks:( I called the teacher and double checked with them. She did not think there would be room, but said to wait and see. So I hope he is not too mad when he cannot take it in to class the first day, but we will see how that goes (wish me luck). I hope that he is so excited on the first day that he will not notice me leaving it in the car... it is worth a shot at least! I will write another post after the first day with some "first day" pict...

We were outside in the backyard when I found a little caterpillar roaming around. The boys were intrigued, but scared at the same time. Brad picked it up and finally got them to warm up to the idea of having him crawl on their hands. Brayden then would not leave him alone! He let the caterpillar crawl all over his arms, shirt, and back. It became a new best friend :) Here are a few photos of Brayden and Brad holding the caterpillar. Brayden was trying to feed him some of the leaf. Brayden finally letting him go back to his "home." It was great to have some science time right in our very own backyard. I know the boys got a kick out of it and next time they will just grab the caterpillar :)

Mr. Brayden as we know, loves all sports. And when I say all I mean ALL. He wants to attend a sports class at our community center which involves about 4 or 5 different sports. Brayden got a set of golf clubs back at Christmas this last year. He often plays with them out in the yard. He has gone with Brad to the driving range and putting green, but has not actually played a round of golf yet. Well, that changed last weekend. He got to go with my parents and play a round of golf at the club they belong to. Grandpa John has long been saying that he would like to take Brayden out to play sometime, but they just had not gotten to it before. My parents called and asked if Brayden would like to join them. He had a big "YES!" as a response. Here is Grandpa John and Brayden getting ready to go to the course: Here are a few from the course: Grandpa and Grammy said that he did very well. He would hit it and then run to the next spot, hit it again and run on. He did that the whole 9 hol...

Brad got some free tickets to one of the local fairs and I happened to yesterday off, so we decided to get out and have some fun. We had hoped to go another night when Larry the Cable Guy was going to be performing, but I had to work that evening so we got to see LeAnn Womack instead. Brayden was very excited to see the animals and go on some rides. We went through the barns first and got to see many different animals. Brayden was saying "hi" and waving to all of the animals. Brock was sleeping in the stroller when we first got there, and when he woke up to see animals around him I think he was a bit confused and wondering how he got there:) After visiting all the animals, Brayden was begging to go on some rides so we hit them up next. He got to pick 3 rides to go on and chose the giant slide, the motorcylces (which he rode by himself), and the Lolly Swing (which use to be at Neverland Ranch and Michael Jackson rode it). After eating some food, we wandered through the rest o...

There are 2 new posts that I just put up from July. I know, I know, it was weeks ago, but I have been a bit busy and tired! They are under the Slip N Slide post. Just scroll down. Thanks!!!